Deadly Thrills: The True Story of Chicago's Most Shocking Killers

by Jaye Slade Fletcher

An account of a series of savage sex murders and mutilations that rocked Chicago during the early 1980s describes the shocking murders and the young man, Robin Gecht, and his male followers who were tried and convicted for the monstrous crimes. Original.

Genres: True Crime, Crime, Nonfiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

Reviews

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read.I thought I had read everything. Serial killers, cannibalism, sadism but this book taught me there are even more disgusting things lunatics can do to the human body. Preferred not to have known to be honest.

I liked the way this book was written and the story intrigued me although it was sometimes really hard to stomach. Only negative thing is that I sometimes got a bit confused who killed who and who testified about that.

You do not hear much about 4 men who kill together. I recommend this out of print book.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so riveting I couldn't put it down -- I gulped it down in about 4 hours. It's the story of a former employee of John Gacy's who went on to form his own serial-killer posse in the greater Chicago area. Seedy little twerp who aspired to Mansonlike powers over what appear to be fairly simple-minded followers, so that he could act out his messed-up fantasies about women's breasts. The mystery deepens when you realize that chicks appear to really dig him.

[Clarence Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the creepiest book I've ever read.

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of the true crime genre I have read many books that will have you sleeping with one eye open. This book is one of them. This is one band of misfits you want to stay far away from.

[Joely · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a sloppy narrative that overly generous with the cops who "solved" the crime. There isn't a lot of information out there about Robin Gecht and the Ripper Crew, so this is as good as it gets. The book is very victim blamey, and does not like sex workers at all. I have an issue with the Ripper Crew being called "Satanic" because there is nothing in the book that would imply such a thing; none of the perpetrators ever mention Satan. Its just satanic panic nonsense without evidence.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing isn’t great, there are a number of spelling and detail errors, but this book is fascinating. The Ripper murders were well-known in the early 1980s (just barely before my time) but one of the crew was recently released from prison and thus this book is relevant to today. The depths of these guys’ depravity are unbelievable. I wish this book were fiction.